Private pupils are two years ahead of state rivals at age 16

PUPILS at private schools are two years ahead of their rivals in the state system by the age of 16, a study suggests.

Children in the independent sector are more successful at GCSE in all subjects – by up to two exam grades.

Compared with teenagers internationally, those at British paid-for schools would outperform the best European nations and match rigorously-taught pupils in Japan and South Korea.

The study, commissioned by the Independent Schools Council (ISC), will cast doubt on recent claims that state schools are catching up with their private counterparts.

Julie Robinson, of the ISC, said it proved private pupils still enjoy relatively higher returns for their schooling. She added that the report gives ‘us solid ground to say that based on academic results, independent schools are worth paying for’.

The research by the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University examined the differences in attainment between pupils in the two sectors from junior or prep school through to GCSE.

It tried to assess only differences which could be credited to attendance at independent schools alone, without factors such as prior ability and family background being considered.

With these factors taken into account, the researchers noted ‘the evidence from this study suggests similar students achieve more in independent schools than in state schools’.

The research found pupils in the independent sector have an advantage over their peers at all ages, beginning at four.

The difference between independent and state schools in the average of best eight GCSEs was just under two grades.

However, when prior academic ability, deprivation and gender were taken into account, the difference was 0.64 exam grades. The report authors admitted there may be some factors they had not accounted for.

But they said: ‘This difference equates to a gain of about two years’ progress and suggests attending an independent school is associated with the equivalent of two additional years of schooling by 16.’ The greatest differences were in French, history and geography while the smallest were in chemistry, physics and biology.

Researchers said that compared internationally, UK private school pupils as a group would outperform those in Finland, Switzerland and the Netherlands – Europe’s highest-achieving nations. They would be on a par with rivals in Japan and Korea.

Professor Robert Coe, who contributed to the study, said: ‘It is always difficult to unpick the causes of any differences, and we think it is unlikely to be purely an effect of better teaching, but we find a clear and significant difference in the GCSEs achieved that is not explained by any of the factors we can account for.’